RUN NO. 2283 LOWER DIPLO 22MAY2012

RUN NO.2283
DATE:  22 MAY 2012
SITE: LOWER DIPLO - Geriatrics and Caregivers Run
HARES: SID/G I JANE/GUNG HO

Leaving all trials and tribulations of the week behind us, we made our way to lower diplo following the well-placed signs for our next hash run in full anticipation of the challenges and thrills ahead. Cars parked at the road side, we all gathered in a rather private tent obscured by tall bushes, a short distance from the main road to be informed that there were two runs , a short geriatric trail marked by a sequence of loo roll papers and fresh long pieces of white paper for the more enthusiastic hashers who preferred the long forest trail. The front horn sounded and off we went armed only with our bare essentials. Signs galore warning "slippery footpaths" etc were aplenty.


We started off on the tarmac and followed a short run on the road to veer into a grassy path between a big ditch and someone’s house fence. A few minutes later the run split into two, the loo roll trail continued to the left on some comfortable tiled paths....understandably so and well thought of......and the longer trail followed a run through some bushes onto a main road. It was very tempting to follow the loo roll trail, but as hashers hungry for some real adventures we took the long forest trail constantly looking for long strips of paper left by the hares.

After another short run on the road, we took a steep descent into the beginning of the forest by treading onto soft slippery ground mostly covered by moist brown leaves. Then into the thick of of it all......long grass on either side of a gently upsloping path again covered with mainly moist brown leaves, requiring subtle balancing in order to avoid slipping into a fall!

The path then turned steeper, with more clearing on either side, not any less slippery than before. It then changed into what was to be a long steep uphill climb, which seemed to take forever. But it was worth it because at the top, we were invited to help ourselves to a token from a bowl full of tiny sweets strategically placed along the path. Yes that was a great boost after a hypoglycaemia-inducing climb. Then came a gentle downhill run, providing release for tired muscles ,a chance to catch our breaths and taking a few sips of water to quench our thirst from heavy sweating during the upward climb.We then found ourselves deep inside forestland, following paths up and down, surrounded by sounds and songs only the creatures of the forests could make. And dare we say it ? Did anyone notice the elves of the tropical rain forests shyly spying on us?

The cries for “checking” could be heard from some distance at various points during the run. Later there were a few streams of cold water and mud to cross .Through a lot of squelch!...splash!....ouch!..... we carried on our trail up and down some more hills.

After 5575 steps recorded on my pedometer and around 2.5 Km, we followed one last steep but short climb and made it through the exit filled with a huge breath of relief as we walked back to our tent where we were fussed over by a trio of geriatrics in long skirts and pinnies proudly flaunting their heavy bosoms. Oh my..........! Talking about bouncing like balloons!

Hard work done, we sat down for the on on. GM thanked the geriatrics trio that somehow managed to lay the hash run. Anyway, token prizes were collected by Sticky Rice ( incontinence diapers) and Nikki ( a soft cushion for piles). Debra won a special kind of underpants with a curious pocket at the mid-front, for correctly suggesting that the purpose of the little pocket is for storing condoms.

We were delighted by the presence of an ex-hasher’s daughter as our guest who had joined us for the run. Eastern Promise & Madmarg (and Dizzy who was still in China) were congratulated for their efforts at the Great Wall Marathon in Beijing the week before. A good event to "tick off" but no record to break due to number of participants.

For the hashits, we initially had three proposed candidates. There were two people noted to have forgotten to sign in and out and also our geriatric trio started the on on without realising that Sarong and Buster the hash dog had not returned to the hash tent. But the trio was spared their punishment as GM heard a text messaging tone on someone’s mobile phone going off and insisted that the person concerned declare herself. In the end, ridden with guilt our lovely Briony stood up to face the whoosh!.... of a bucket load of cold water! Then more announcements and a geriatric joke ensued before we all finally settled down to bread and pumpkin soup.

Well done hashers! Till the next run.....

On on!  Zur